Matt Le Tissier believes Phil Foden could be as good as Paul Gascoigne if he is afforded more opportunities at Manchester City.

The Blues youngster netted his first City goal against Oxford in the Carabao Cup last month, in what was his 26th appearance for the club.

Foden has played 46 minutes of Premier League football this season but Le Tissier believes the 18-year-old needs more game time to showcase his talents.

“I think a lot of people feel that Phil Foden might be that kind of player, but you’ve got to make sure these players are given opportunities to show what they’ve got," the former Southampton midfielder told Gulf News.

“Training with the quality of players he is training with day in day out at City is going to do him a lot of good and he’ll learn a lot, but ultimately once he’s learnt, he’s got to be able to put that experience into a competitive environment, and that’s the one thing that will make or break you."

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"But if they just stuck someone like a Gazza in there I think it would make it an outstanding football team."

Foden made his England under-21 bow this month, and Le Tissier believes Southgate would have no qualms about selecting Foden for the senior squad.

"I like to think he’s quite brave in giving youngsters a chance and putting players in the squad he believes in," he added.

“If there was that type of player around he may well embrace it, because I think it’s the one thing we’re lacking and it showed in the World Cup semi-final where we needed that one player who can do something a little different to unlock a team in a tight game."